Essentials of Vitamin D

Why Vitamin D Is ESSENTIAL for Your Entire Body

Once thought of as playing a primary role in osteoporosis and osteomalacia, researchers now realize that vitamin D affects virtually every cell and tissue in your body. And it affects numerous vitamin D receptors located throughout your body and nearly 3,000 genes.

Vitamin D is produced when the sun strikes your skin under the right conditions

Your cells need the active form of vitamin D to unlock the genetic blueprints stored inside the cell. Without these crucial blueprints, these aspects of your health could potentially be at risk:

Maintenance of overall health*

Cellular growth and development*

Bone strength and health*

Blood sugar health*

Digestion and absorption of nutrients*

Blood pressure health*

Heart health*

Vascular system health*

Immune function*

Joint health*

Mood and overall feelings of well-being*

Neurological and cognitive health*

Muscular function*

Skin health*

Pancreatic function and health*

Healthy aging process*

Sleep patterns*

Hearing and vision*

Reproductive health*

Newborn health*

Athletic performance*

Respiratory function and health*

Carbohydrate and fat metabolism*

Metabolic rate*

Weight management*

Hair and hair follicles*

This is a long list. Yet, as research continues on vitamin D, you can expect to see it grow even longer!

A Daily Dose of Sunshine Fixes Everything, Right? Not So Fast…

But the challenge here is that this is not true in the winter for nearly everyone reading this. Unless you live in the tropics or subtropics, there simply isn’t enough UVB available to you in the winter to make vitamin D.

Even in the summer though, I wish I could tell you that just getting out in the sun takes care of your needs.

It’s certainly my preferred method to produce optimal levels, and research shows it is the most beneficial way to get your vitamin D.

However, with the factors I just mentioned – darker skin, over 50, gut issues, and weight – most people simply can’t get enough vitamin D from the sun.

And that’s not all…

To get the vitamin D your body needs for all its cells and tissues, four conditions must be met:

You expose large portions of your body, not just your hands and face.

You’re outside when UVB rays are at their peak, the only type of rays that produce vitamin D.

You avoid the use of sunscreen during UVB exposure as it can prevent your skin from producing vitamin D.

You’re in a latitude that has adequate UVB rays.

Many people believe taking a walk during a midday break fulfills their vitamin D needs, but you now know that is usually not true. And of these four conditions, the last one may be the biggest deal breaker of all…

Supplimenting with Vitamin D

Vitamin D enhances the absorption of calcium and magnesium in the body by regulating the genes that govern this process. Vitamin D has been used in conjunction with calcium to support healthy bones in postmenopausal women. It also regulates the expression of the genes involved with osteoblasts.

Unicity Bone Fortify contains 2000 IU of Vitamin D3 , and also provides a highly bioavailable form of calcium (CCM), along with several other ingredients that assist bone development in a heart-healthy way; Magnesium, Vitamin C , Vitamin K2, trace minerals and boron. It is a genomeceutical – the new science which works on a cellular level!

Unicity Joint Mobility, another genomeceutical, contains 200 IU of Vitamin D3 along with Turmeric, Bosewella, type II Collagen complex. This formulation helps maintain joint health through two distinct mechanisms. One is that the product’s type II collagen (UC-II) -a supplement used to treat joint health in its original molecular structure – interacts with antibody molecules and deactivates collagen-specific T cells. When those T cells are deactivated, the enzymes responsible for joint breakdown are not released.

Why You Have a GREATER Chance of Being Deficient Than Not

As you can see from the chart below, in most parts of the US (and the Northern hemisphere, including Canada), you can’t get enough sunlight to produce adequate levels of vitamin D in your skin.

Dr. Michael Holick, a recognized vitamin D expert, has found that if you live north of Atlanta, Georgia in the US, you cannot make vitamin D in your skin from about November through February.

Even as far south as Miami, Florida, you only make about 10 to 20 percent of the vitamin D in winter that you make during the summer months.

One exception to this rule is elevation… At 15,000 feet you can make robust amounts of vitamin D at northern latitudes, mainly because of the sun’s angle and because the sun has less atmosphere to penetrate.

In the image below, you can clearly see why you would not be able to receive enough sunlight in the month of March, to produce enough vitamin D. Although this is just one month of the year, it’s a good example of just how necessary it is to obtain your vitamin D elsewhere.